Resources: BTC Pipeline, Caspian Region, Parliamentary Committee

Trade and Industry Committee Inquiry into Implementation of ECGD's Business Principles

4 April 2005

The UK Parliament's Trade and Industry Committee held an inquiry into support provided for the BTC pipeline by the UK's export credit agency, ECGD. It focused on allegations that the companies involved knew about safety problems with the anti-corrosion coating chosen to seal the pipeline's joints before it was buried, but did not disclose them to ECGD. Contrary to previous public and parliamentary assurances, ECGD officials admitted to the inquiry that the coating had not been properly tested and it was being used for the first time.